Thursday’s trading session started on a downbeat, and major indexes fluctuated between negative and flat for most of the day. However, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite turned positive in the closing minutes of the day, each gaining 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.57 points to end at 34,894.12.
Energy companies and financial stocks lagged. Indeed, notable decliners in the Dow included Chevron, Goldman Sachs and American Express.
Indeed, Goldman Sachs cut its economic growth forecast for the current quarter to 5.5% from 9%, which weighed on investors’ sentiment.
Worries over the delta variant would likely lead to reduced consumer spending, said Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist, in his report. “Spending on dining, travel, and some other services is likely to decline in August, though we expect the drop to be modest and brief,” his note said.
